Ato Yoroshiku あとよろしく
by HARPG0
Summary: Seto Kaiba goes looking for Jounouchi...and finds him.


Ato Yoroshiku

あとよろしく

"This way, Kaiba-sama!"

Ordinarily, Kaiba Seto would never have allowed anyone to walk ahead of him. It was how his nature dictated—always first, always best. But, this was too important. And his men in black had a way of finding things out quickly and efficiently. If not, they'd be fired on the spot.

Today, this one had done an extremely good job and earned his paycheck.

Behind Kaiba were five more of his men, all trudging along at a fast pace. Their footsteps echoing in a lonely way as they went through a maze of wooden crates stacked neatly on top of each other—giving a scent of dusty wood everywhere.

The dingy, somewhat dated warehouses were located in the industrial district on the edge of Domino City. But it was one warehouse in particular that they were interested in. Once they'd been certain as to the location, thanks to a very keen eyed limo driver parked outside of Domino High and a phone call to trace a white delivery van's license plate, Kaiba and his people made their way here.

"Just around this corner," the man said, looking over his left shoulder at Kaiba.

Kaiba Seto followed. He was still wearing his high school uniform—which pissed him off royally. Being seen in his "dork suit" outside of school hours was for losers. He'd prefer a nice business suit or even the casual, Italian clothes that his brother, Mokuba, had bought for him for his birthday.

There was a gap in the wall to the young CEO's left. A cold, dusty breeze blew in, combing his hair back. That got a disapproving squint and the vague realization that the sun was setting. It was getting late and "he" had been here, most likely, for over two hours.

"There!" The man yelled, pointing ahead.

_That's him!_

Blue eyes strained to peer through the shadows, to take in what lay ahead. _Can't see…_ There could be trouble—too many dark corners to think about thanks to the stacked crates and boxes. Nevertheless, Kaiba took charge of the situation. He motioned to those behind them to ready their weapons, just in case. They readied themselves—opening their sports coats and reaching to where they kept their gun holsters.

Kaiba easily circumvented the employee in front and walked briskly for the lone figure slumped against the nearest support beam.

Kaiba's men stared at their boss dumbfounded. Walking in alone was a terrible risk.

Jounouchi Katsuya sat with his back against a thick, metal pole that extended several meters into the cobwebbed ceiling above. His wrists were handcuffed behind his back. Blood dripped down onto the floor.

Visibly, his chest moved with each labored breath.

"Get the lights!" Kaiba ordered to the nearest one to him.

"Yes, Kaiba-sama," said voice from behind. Rushed footsteps followed.

The oversized industrial lights in the warehouse all flickered at once and came on with an annoying, electrical buzzing sound.

The lights illuminated the figure before him and Kaiba took in a sudden, harsh breath.

_Damn!_

The right side of Jounouchi's face was freckled with splatters of dried blood. There was a crimson line still dripping from his blond hair, trickling across his cheek, and staining his chin. Red tears fell to his bare chest—which had fist-sized bruises in numerous places. Small, round burns were there, too.

_They burned him with cigarettes_, Kaiba thought and fought with himself to remain under control.

Kneeling beside the blond, Kaiba reached around and tested the handcuffs. No good. But, then, he didn't expect them to give way. It looked as though Jou had been struggling against them, creating bruised marks in places where the skin wasn't rubbed raw.

He fingered the chain that linked the cuffs together. _We'll have to cut this crap off._

Jounouchi whimpered in pain. "No more…_please_…no more…"

The head lifted lethargically. Honey colored eyes cracked open, peeking wearily at those around him. Seeing them, Jounouchi's head rolled to the right side and leaned weakly. The body slumped a little more. "Damn." A harsh, whispered curse.

The white undershirt shirt he was wearing was little more than a torn rag now. The same couldn't exactly be said for his school jacket and white shirt that were scuffed up, covered with dirt, and discarded roughly to the side. They had thought about what they were going to do to Jou before they actually did it. Handcuffing him and ripping his undershirt down the middle was just the first stage of intimidation.

"You…" Jounouchi breathed raggedly, looking at the sight beside him.

Seto knelt down next to Jounouchi. There was a strange, unreadable expression on the other teen's face.

_This is distracting me… I've got to do something now!_ His head shot up in the direction of his highest ranking employee. "There's a hardware store that we passed on the way here. Get somebody over there and find something to pick the lock, or some cutters…whatever it takes." He gestured to the handcuffs. "We're getting him out of here."

Seto opened his wallet and pulled out a wad of cash. He handed it over, not bothering to count the bills.

"You've got ten minutes," he growled menacingly.

"Yes, Kaiba-sama!" The man in black who was standing closest to Seto and who had an air of authority among the little group adjusted his sunglasses on his face. "But, sir, we could try to shoot the chain here." He fingered the chain linking the cuffs.

"And, if one of you geniuses manages to miss?" Kaiba growled.

"Well…" Not having an answer, he pointed to two subordinates and handed over the money. They left immediately and Seto turned back to the remaining men who were awaiting orders. "Secure the perimeter. I'll stay with him. And if those _people_ return, let me know at once!"

The man with sunglasses frowned internally but knew better than to show it. Instead, he tried to appear confused, which came across as an over the top, B movie-quality acting job. Seto noticed that right away and hated it.

"Of course, Kaiba-sama…but there's only three of them. Surely, with the number of _professionals_ that you have at your disposal…" The words were confidant and slightly arrogant for such a supposedly "confused" person.

The frown line deepened. Arrogance was something that Seto reserved only for himself. No one else had the right to sound that way.

The young CEO's jaw set.

"At once…or you'll not like the consequences." Blue eyes sparkled dangerously at him. "Clear?"

There was a shaky nod to that. Then, Seto's people, still uncomfortable with the situation, left to secure the rest of the building.

Seto turned back to notice that the honey colored eyes, half moons, were regarding him.

"Jounouchi…" he began, his tone flat.

The blond flinched at his name.

It hurt somewhere, but, mentally, Seto tried to shrug it off. It didn't matter. None of it mattered. An hour from now, the image of Jounouchi Katsuya bleeding helplessly before him would fade from memory. It would. With enough effort, he'd make that happen.

Honey colored eyes returned. Jounouchi found the will to stare back hazily, not sure where his head was and not being able to do much about it.

A muscle spasm clinched hard, making him twist against the handcuffs—pressing them into his already bruised skin—as his body fell forward as much as the cuffs would allow. Jou's right leg tightened mercilessly, making him shift it to relieve the pressure. He felt pain flash into him again. With a groan, a blond head fell forward, burned and battered chest heaving.

Seto's jaw fell. Witnessing it, a part of him wanted to reach out, yearned to. But, other than Mokuba, he'd never comforted another living soul before. The only reaction that he felt comfortable with was the usual: threatening looks, cutting remarks, and insults tossed carelessly in the other's direction. In fact, it would be much easier to call Jou a fool and push him away right now. But, Jou being in this state rattled him. The obvious occurred to him in a blinding flash. It was truly possible to hurt the loud-mouthed blond—to hurt him badly enough to die. Seto couldn't accept it before; His mind simply couldn't. But, now…

"You aren't real," Jou whispered harshly followed by a bitter rasp that Seto took for a laugh. Then, his face fell as exhaustion seeped in.

Seto blinked at that. He had expected more—accusations, fury, bitterness. In his mind, he'd practiced the possible things that Jounouchi might say to him at this point and, in doing so, he'd come up with counterarguments that started with "koinu" and proceeded from there with more creative insults.

"Why do I keep seeing you?" Jounouchi turned his face away. "So…stupid…" His head turned back to Seto, looking at him again. And, through the pain, he smiled. It was beautiful and miserable.

A tear streaked down from his left eye.

The blond jerked his right hand, still cuffed to the pole. A drop of blood fell from his face to his bare shoulder. "Phantom Kaiba still haunts me." Jounouchi jerked hopelessly on the handcuffs again, as though he'd be strong enough to break free. "You aren't real…just another nightmare…false hope…" He hissed in pain as his body slid down to the floor and the cuffs cutting off the circulation in his wrists. "…Keep wanting you to come for me…stupid me…"

The blond lowered his head again as the world dimmed.

"Jounouchi?" He took a shoulder and shook him gently. "Jou?" Seto worried.

"Hm…K-Kaiba…"

"Stay awake."

Jou leaned forward and the sound of the metal cuffs scraping against the pole grated on Seto's ears. The CEO glanced behind and noticed more blood on the floor. It also seemed that the blond's circulation was being cut off.

As filthy as the floor probably was, Seto eased himself down next to Jounouchi. He turned to look at the blond again and said, "Let's have you sit up a little." Putting his hands on either side of Jou's aching ribs, he managed to straighten up the willowy body only to have Jou whimper in pain and utter curses under his breath. "We're going to free you from the handcuffs, Jounouchi."

In a pained voice, Jou answered, "You've said that to me too many times…and I'm still here." He released a breath. "So…tired."

His body seemed to teeter and then Jou felt a large, warm hand against his bruised cheek. His body leaned to the side against something else that was warm and his head rested on a sturdy shoulder.

"Do you still think I'm an illusion?"

"…Keep dreaming of you…yeah…"

There was a slight chuckle to that. "Why?" Curious blue eyes cut to Jounouchi, waiting.

"Dunno…" He opened his eyes a little only to see the warehouse and shut them again, burying his face in Seto's neck to block it all out. "Maybe, here at the end…I needed you…"

There was a small smile at that. "To rescue you?"

Jounouchi smiled, too. "To say goodbye."

Seto's jaw dropped at that. And then the anger hit him hard. "That wasn't a very funny joke. And you're always joking. You can't ever be serious. That's your problem. You know that, right?" was hissed spitefully in Jou's ear.

The blond hummed contentedly at the tone of voice. "Of all the 'Kaibas' I've met today, you're the most realistic." He let his head rest heavily on the brunette's shoulder. "I'm glad."

"Glad? How can you be _glad_?"

Jounouchi's lips pushed upward into a grin in spite of the pain he was feeling. "This is my punishment for the lie."

Seto's face showed confusion again. Jounouchi was known for telling the truth—loudly, crudely, with an annoying dialect of Japanese that got on his last nerve… But to lie? Unlikely. "How did you lie? I don't understand a word of what you're telling me."

Jounouchi heaved a pained sigh and glanced up into sharp, blue eyes. "I really should…confess."

"C-Confess…?" He could feel his heart pounding at the word. And this wasn't the first time that someone had used _that word_ with him. But, with Jounouchi, it was different. It had a unique meaning entirely.

"After school, you and I…" Pain in his head burned. He tightened his hands into fists, breathing through it.

"Got into another argument," he finished for him.

"Yeah," he groaned with a slight nod, "and then two middle aged guys…one was an Australian, I think, because he was gaijin and his Japanese was really weird…" The blond took a ragged breath. "They came up to me…said someone told them that Kaiba Seto was over here… Wanted to know if it was me or not."

_So, that's how you met with them, Jounouchi…_

His face began to frown at the memory of what came next and Seto noticed it. "And then…well…" Jou's voice became soft. "I joked, 'How can you not recognize the great Kaiba-sama of Japan?' and went on like that. I said, 'Who looks more like he plays games all day? That stuck-up prick over there…or me?'" He laughed but there was no mirth in it. "I wasn't jealous…just _curious_… I wanted to know what it was like to be Kaiba Seto…and they seemed…harmless…a couple of suits, really….until they had me."

Honey colored eyes seemed to be pleading; an apology. "I held out as long as I could, though…to protect you from this…"

He reached a hand out to touch Kaiba's face but stopped when the cuffs bit into his wrist. Seto was an illusion. Even if he could move, his hand would go right through and despair would take hold of his heart again. Jou couldn't go through that another time.

"I can handle pain…hurting alone like this, I mean…"

Seto cringed.

Jou looked down at himself and took another shuddering breath. It seemed like he was bleeding all over. Broken or sprained. Something ached in his chest with every breath. "And, you know what, Dream-Kaiba?"

"What?" Seto asked, gently tugging Jou closer; hugging him.

"It really sucks to be you."

* * *

**Author's note:** _Ato Yoroshiku_ is a Japanese idiom that means "To Hold the Fort" or "To Take Care of."

* * *


End file.
